A blog about my fundraising experiences and thoughts. I also regularly share my favourite fundraising articles from around the web.
All the articles are my own opinion and work and do not reflect the views of the organisation that I work for. I blog to share my ideas and thoughts and because I enjoy it!
Any questions or queries then please get in touch - I would love to hear from you.

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Pop-Up Fundraising Events: A Gingerbread Example

Whilst on my mini-honeymoon last week I spotted a poster for this giant edible gingerbread house that had been made to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

As I've an incredibly sweet tooth (and in the name of fundraising research!) I thought I'd pop along and take a look as I thought it sounded a great idea.

The queue when I arrived was massive, though Grace and I were the only people without kids, and we waited diligently to descend to the underground cave housing the house.

When we got down there the gingerbread-house made an impressive sight (see video at the bottom), but it soon became apparent that the event hadn't been organised by GOSH. They were merely the beneficiaries. This meant from a fundraising perspective it was a real missed opportunity.

However, I loved the idea and with a bit of tweaking I'm sure it could've have been a fantastic fundraiser.

I believe that if charities can create social objects then they create a fantastic opportunity to engage, interact and excite current and potential donors.

Using the gingerbread example, I would have loved it if while the parents were waiting for the kids to get their fix of e-numbers there was a display, video or person going around talking about GOSH, engaging with them and ultimately asking them to donate, as it would have been a natural thing to talk about.

Pop-up restaurants, art galleries and even cinemas are all the rage at the minute in London, so will the pop-up fundraising event be the next big trend?

If you can create something as interesting and stimulating as the gingerbread-house then you may be on to something...

Comments

Whilst on my mini-honeymoon last week I spotted a poster for this giant edible gingerbread house that had been made to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

As I've an incredibly sweet tooth (and in the name of fundraising research!) I thought I'd pop along and take a look as I thought it sounded a great idea.

The queue when I arrived was massive, though Grace and I were the only people without kids, and we waited diligently to descend to the underground cave housing the house.

When we got down there the gingerbread-house made an impressive sight (see video at the bottom), but it soon became apparent that the event hadn't been organised by GOSH. They were merely the beneficiaries. This meant from a fundraising perspective it was a real missed opportunity.

However, I loved the idea and with a bit of tweaking I'm sure it could've have been a fantastic fundraiser.

I believe that if charities can create social objects then they create a fantastic opportunity to engage, interact and excite current and potential donors.

Using the gingerbread example, I would have loved it if while the parents were waiting for the kids to get their fix of e-numbers there was a display, video or person going around talking about GOSH, engaging with them and ultimately asking them to donate, as it would have been a natural thing to talk about.

Pop-up restaurants, art galleries and even cinemas are all the rage at the minute in London, so will the pop-up fundraising event be the next big trend?

If you can create something as interesting and stimulating as the gingerbread-house then you may be on to something...